Couture rep: Overeem's gym departure not related to Lesnar request
by Steven Marrocco on Dec 30, 2011 at 4:05 pm ET
A representative for Randy Couture is emphatic that Alistair Overeem left Xtreme Couture of his own accord, and that his departure is unrelated to a previous non-disclosure agreement between the UFC Hall of Famer and Brock Lesnar.

"There was no contractual issue, but it was a relationship issue," Sam Spira, Couture's lawyer and business partner, today told MMAjunkie.com ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]).

On Nov. 7, Overeem announced that he'd joined Xtreme Couture after his departure from longtime team Golden Glory. Ten days later, the former Strikeforce champ flew from Las Vegas to Holland to care for his mother.

Two days after his announcement, Overeem sued Golden Glory in California for breach of contract, and the team on Thursday filed a countersuit in Nevada. Shortly after his departure to Holland, Overeem was ensnared by controversy when he missed a pre-fight drug test for his headlining fight with Brock Lesnar at tonight's UFC 141 event, which takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. After appearing before the commission via telephone, he was granted a conditional license and is required to undergo additional drug testing.

A recent report suggested Overeem was ousted from Xtreme Couture at Lesnar's behest – the former UFC heavyweight champ presumably fearing Couture could pass on training tips – and suggested Couture might be in breach of an earlier legal agreement.

Couture, however, was halfway around the world at the time while working on the set of the action flick "The Expendables 2." Spira said he contacted Lesnar's camp after Overeem's announcement to assure that Couture wouldn't be assisting the heavyweight.

"I got a very nice response back from them," Spira said. "As far as I know, there was no problem. They never pressured me or anything. They were great. I have no special knowledge as to why Overeem chose not to work out there."

Although Couture and Lesnar did have non-disclosure agreements in place, Spira said they applied to a camp in which Couture helped Lesnar prepare for a fight at UFC 116 against Shane Carwin.

Overeem ultimately split his training camp between Holland and the U.S. According to those within Xtreme Couture, Overeem spent much of his training camp at a private Las Vegas facility run by Vitor Belfort, where his training partners were kept under wraps.